Why do Chinese people bow down eight times when swearing to be brothers?
Ancient China may not have had social media, but if close friends from Chinese history had posted any photos of themselves in hanging out and helping each another, they probably have hashtagged it "eight-bow friends (八拜之交)" —the 12th century equivalent of #FriendshipGoals.
Appearing first in the Shaoshi Wenjian Lu (《邵氏闻见录》) by scholar Shao Bowen (邵伯温) in 1132, the term “eight-bow friends” refers to sworn brothers (or sisters) in Chinese history. According to Master Shao, when two bosom friends swear to be brothers or sisters for life, they need to bow down eight times, and to worship eight pairs of great friends in history and legend, who are respected as ideal models for true friendship. Here are stories of those eight undying friendships:
Sun Jiahui is a freelance writer and former editor at The World of Chinese. She writes about Chinese language, society and culture, and is especially passionate about sharing stories of China's ancient past with a wider audience. She has been writing for TWOC for over six years, and pens the Choice Chengyu column.
